Abstract

In the past three decades, the concept of sustainable development became the focus of attention in practically all developed and developing countries. This concept aims to balance various economic, ecological, and social aspects that form the key pillars of sustainability. Notwithstanding the growing literature on sustainability, it is still unclear what components impact it. This paper summarizes and systematizes contemporary theoretical and methodological approaches to sustainable development and reviews urban sustainability factors mentioned in the literature to identify which ones are the most common and considered to be the most important. The authors analyzed the theoretical and practical foundations of the circular economy as a relatively new trend in sustainable urban development. Through the literature analysis, this paper concluded that the factors mentioned the most are related to the traditional three pillars of the sustainability model. Overall, 14 factors have been identified and packed into 4 groups: social factors, environmental factors, economic factors, and awareness factors. The research made it clear that the circular economy concept keeps evolving. It could be useful for achieving higher levels of urban sustainability through impact on some of the key urban sustainability factors. The achievement of sustainable development goals is reached within the general modernization processes observed in the economy and society. The technological and managerial innovations currently being implemented take into account the social, economic, and ecological needs of different subjects to the economy. This research paper is limited by its reliance on other scholars’ self-reporting results of their studies. The results of this study could be used for further research in this field and perform as a foundation of achieving sustainable development on different levels of management through circular business models, recycled raw materials market, and management of circular production and consumption. 

Keywords: sustainability, urban sustainability, sustainable development, sustainable cities, sustainable urban development, circular economy.

JEL Classification: R11, Q56, O32.

Cite as: Veckalne, R., & Tambovceva, T. (2021). Innovations in circular economy for sustainable urban development. Marketing and Management of Innovations, 4, 196-209. https://doi.org/10.21272/mmi.2021.4-15

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

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